IT WAS greed and bribery that set me on the path to good spelling. My greed and my primary school teacher Mr Hearne’s bribery. Every Friday he’d give a (small) cash prize to the 10-year-old who got 10 out of 10 for spelling. Every Friday, I’d be a winner. He’d try to outsmart us, the [...]

  1. “The belief that ‘and’ should not be used to begin a sentence is without foundation. And that’s all there is to it.” (author Bill Bryson, from ‘Troublesome Words’) 2. YOU’RE means YOU ARE (the clue is in the apostrophe – it shows there’s something missing). YOUR means belonging to you. 3. UNIQUE means [...]

I’VE often wondered how some of the simple American spellings of English words – color, center, humor, etc – came into being, and now I know. It’s all down to Noah Webster, apparently. Yes, that Webster, of Webster’s Dictionary fame (now the Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Old Noah – born on October 16, 1758 – worried about [...]

WE’VE all giggled, I’m sure, over ambiguous newspaper headlines but they continue to slip though the editing net into just about every paper in the world, no matter how much their authors – usually sub-editors – sweat and stress over them. The problem, of course, is that the people writing the headlines know what they [...]

Grammar Tip 6: ANYWAY means in any event. ANY WAY means in any direction or style. Grammar Tip 7: In UK English, WHISKY comes from Scotland and WHISKEY doesn’t (it’s usually Irish).   Grammar Tip 8: “I might of known” is wrong. “I might have known” is correct. Grammar Tip 9: It’s BLOND hair for [...]

An adjective is a word that describes a noun: Hannibal Lecter is a SCARY character.   Was this quick and easy grammar tip helpful? For more,  follow me daily on Twitter – @StevieGodson

    If the leash comes LOOSE you may LOSE your dog. For more quick and easy grammar tips, follow me daily on Twitter – @StevieGodson

  “So fun” is wrong (even though the mighty Oprah says it!). “Such fun” is correct. “So much fun” is OK, too.   Like this? Follow me on Twitter – @StevieGodson - for quick and easy  daily grammar tips

Watch out for my easy-to-remember daily Twitter grammar tips – starting today. Easy Grammar Tip 1: There is no such word as alot. Ever. Want more? Follow me on Twitter – @StevieGodson (These easy-to-remember grammar tips are also listed in the Word Nerds Tips and Tutorials page)